Gnomes (Wicked Dwarves)
The Gnomes (K. Khazâd-Buzrâfelak 'deep-delving dwarves', Khazâd-Abzagkibil 'dwarves of the cursed silver', G. Khuz-Nom 'deep dwarves') are a group of Wicked Dwarves, descended from Dwarves who were captured by Morgoth in the First Age and corrupted with the use of celebur, a form of plutonium. They are "corrupted" beings, evil by nature with no conscience or compassion for any race other than their own. They have a deep-rooted hatred of all people who live above ground, but especially toward dwarves, whom they loathe and despise. ' History' Many a dwarf remembers well, from their childhood days, the severe scolding they would receive from their parents or an elder in their tribe followed, time and again, by the ominous warning, "If you don't behave, the Gnomes will come and take you away!" The "gnome" is to a dwarf as the "boogie-man" is to Men (or any imaginary, threatening being is to any other race). But like so many myths and legends from times long since past, sometimes these "imaginary" threats are based on long forgotten truths... During the dawn of the First Age, when Dwarves first came to the notice of Melkor, he captured some and tried to corrupt them into Orcs, as he had with the Elves. Dwarves, however, were stubborn, and simply could not be twisted as Elves had. It was then that he remembered Celebur, a cursed metal that when forged made weapons of horrible power, but sickened and killed the Orcs that mined it. He trained his captive dwarves in its mining, never telling them of its side effects, set them to work, and then waited to see what would happen. The dwarven miners sickened, their hair fell out, and then, eventually, most perished. They lasted longer than the orcs had, however, and a few did survive. Melkor took their children, cast terrible sorceries on them, and then repeated the process of training them in mining Celebur. More of this new generation survived the contact the deadly metal, although they were plagued with mutations. Melkor repeated the cycle again and again; the result was a breed of dwarves that could withstand Celebur exposure, and in fact needed its energies to survive. But they were horribly mutated, and as naturally evil and corrupt as orcs were. He taught them his crafts and skills, rivalling those that would be taught to the Seven Fathers by Aule, in order to craft weapons of Celebur. Melkor never shared the true story of their creation with them. Instead, this is what he told them: when Aule created the Seven Fathers of the Dwarves, there was originally an Eighth Father. He had made the Eight by pouring molten stone into metal moulds, and allowing them to cool. But while the first seven had been perfect, the eighth mould had cracked and deformed. The Eighth Father was thus deformed in turn. Aule had taken the mould and left it on his discard heap with similar failed experiments. Now Melkor had spies among the Valar, and from them heard of his creation of the Dwarves, and the actions of Eru in turn, adopting them as his own but ordering Aule to let them sleep until after the awakening of the Elves. Melkor, curious, travelled to the hidden forges of Aule buried deep in the earth below Valinor, to discover the truth about the creation of the Seven Fathers. Silent, and always hidden in shadow, Melkor scoured through the forges searching for clues, until he found what he had been desiring. In a large pile were heaped the discarded moulds of seven small beings, and upon the top an eighth mould which had been cracked and remained yet unopened. He took the mould, escaping with it, and in Utumno broke it open. Seeing the hideous form within, he took pity on it and breathed life into it, naming him Gnemlash. He discovered that the dwarf needed the energies of Celebur to survive, so he gave it and his children the job of mining the metal. And he made sure that that they understood how Aule had dispossessed them of their birthright, abandoning them instead of caring for them and attending to their needs. He claimed that Aule and the seven clans would hunt them down and kill them if the existence of the Gnomes was ever revealed; it was essential that they never contact the other clans, and put their trust in Melkor’s protection. Thus Melkor lied to them, instilling within them a deep hatred and fear of Aule and the seven tribes of dwarves. They no longer remembered their distant origins as captured dwarves of the seven tribes; nor did they know that Melkor could not truly create or give creatures life, merely twist existing life into evil shapes. When Melkor was defeated in battle with the Valar and Utumno destroyed, one of his last actions before his capture and chaining was to call the leaders of the gnomes to him and tell them this: "Fly my children and let them not discover you, for surely you will be destroyed by them! Hide yourselves deep within the earth, where even the Aule the Terrible cannot discover you! Always travel South, for in the North they will always be seeking those things I have created. Now go, multiply and prosper and remember well who, above all others, are your enemies - the Seven Fathers and their creator Aule! Beware the many lies they will weave to ensnare you, my children... loathe and hate them with all your hearts! NOW GO!!!" And believing his lie, flee they did, to the only place that would protect them – deep into the earth, deeper than any of the seven clans had ever delved. In the Under-Deeps, the Gnome King found a place unspoiled, filled with all manner of riches in the form of silver, gold, mithril, precious gemstones, and most importantly, celebur. Here he built his people's home, "Rockdome", and began to build a horde of great wealth. Soon his tribe began to flourish and spread with new tribes springing up wherever celebur and the earth's treasures were in great abundance. They were gifted like no dwarf had ever been in the ways of metallurgy and magic, crafting great works of metal and stone. But they had grown jealous of the seven clans above. Morgoth had made them innately evil, the dwarven equivalent of the Orcs. They were greedy and foul, eating the flesh of other races who travelled too deep below the earth. "Curses" became their special art and they were woven into many of their greatest works, in the form of metals alloyed with celebur. Outsiders who stole or stumbled onto these treasures became ill and died if they possessed them for too long – the curse of the Gnomes. It was quite by accident that the Gnomes were finally discovered by the Dwarves. No-one had known of their existence except for Melkor, though the dwarves had many legends about some "dwarf-like" race lurking in the shadows of the Under-Deeps. But they remained just stories and tall tales used to frighten unwary travellers/explorers of the underworld and, of course, small unruly children who tended to wander astray and too far from home. These legends were given a name: 'Khazâd-Buzrâfelak', the deep-dwarves. Eventually, the dwarves unwittingly stumbled upon one of the Gnomes' secret cities, buried deep in the bowls of the earth. Up to now they had remained hidden, fearing that their discovery would mean their destruction (as their former master and teacher Melkor had warned them). But now they had been discovered, and even worse, by their most hated enemy, the Dwarves, who would surely spread the news of what they had found; and eventually this discovery would reach the ear of their creator Aule the Terrible. This set in motion events which would ultimately cause their near-annihilation. Word of their discovery spread quickly among both races. Fearing that Aule had been searching for them since they escaped discovery in Utumno and thus had sent the Seven Fathers to hunt them down and destroy them, they made war upon the dwarves of the Seven Great Houses, believing that their only chance to survive was to act quicker than the enemy while they still retained the element of surprise. At this time, their numbers were few and their secret cities even fewer, Morgoth never having time to breed them in great numbers; they could not act at once against all the Seven Fathers. Thus their eyes were turned against one of the seven that reigned in Belegost whom their Master, Morgoth, had loathed the most for having dared to helped the Grey Elves in Beleriand. They attacked Belegost in secrecy and with surprise, easily entering the Great Mansion through tunnels and pits they had constructed, possessing skills of engineering which far surpassed those of the Seven. Gnomes would tunnel into the two great houses and attack them in their sleep, killing all – man, woman or child – without mercy or conscience, wielding cursed weapons of great power and unbridled dark magics. They would further eat the flesh of their victims and carry off their heads. Belegost took such terrible losses they feared they might be destroyed. Who was this enemy, where were they coming from and how could they be stopped? Then the Gnomes went after Nogrod, which was their folly; by then word had reached the other Great Mansions who sent them aid, but they could not fight in earnest an enemy they could not find. The Gnomes knew well where the many houses of the enemy lay, for they had avoided them for many years, attempting to hide from them. Conversely the Dwarves had no idea where the Gnomes had built their secret cities and Rockdome, their capital; and in this they were at a disadvantage when the war erupted, the like of which the dwarves had never known. The Seven Fathers gathered all their forces together to try and stop the atrocities. They cried to their father for aid: "How can we fight an enemy we cannot find, Oh Father? Please, help us!" Dwarven legend claims that Aule heard the cry of his children and knew in his heart what needed to be done. The decree was: genocide for the Gnomes. The Seven Houses united and genocide was declared upon the Gnomes. It is said that Aule personally led the armies of the Seven Fathers to Rockdome. From Rockdome the dwarves discovered clues on how and where to find the Gnomes' other secret cities (which there were very few) and destroyed them as well. The Gnomes were hunted to (what the seven clans believed to be) extinction before the dawn of the Second Age. The few Gnomes which manage to escape then fled south, travelling deep underground where they hoped the dwarves would never venture, into the Under-Deeps. Eventually they founded new cities on deposits of celebur, and steadily increased their numbers. Some of these were close to Mordor, and so in the Second Age Sauron became aware on their presence. He forced them to serve him, mining celebur and forging it into weapons for his use. The Gnomes were not pleased about this, for in truth thei relationship with their 'father' Morgoth had always been strained; they recognised him as their saviour, while resenting his harsh control of them. They saw all others than themselves as enemies, and that included Sauron. So when the Dark Lord was finally destroyed at the end of the Third Age, they rejoiced and continued in their old ways. There have been few encounters with the seven clans since the original war. Small groups of dwarves and gnomes have encountered each other, and one or the other group killed. These were hushed up, and few dwarves know of them. Even the Wise are unaware of their existence. As with the Mornaugrim, only a handful of powerful Dwarf-lords know that they are more than a tale. For them, it is a dark and horrible secret, to be shared with no other race in Middle-Earth, and few of their fellow Dwarves. Most Dwarves know the tale of the Gnomes merely as a childhood bedtime story, or at best as very ancient history. Physical Characteristics 'Build: Gnomes can vary wildly in appearance from almost like normal dwarves to extremely deformed. Appearance will vary depending on which city they live in, and what caste they belong to. They often have horrible deformities of face and body, with prominent spines, jagged or pointed teeth, claws, long ears, and warty faces. This is most true of those in the slave castes, although it is common in other castes too. There are also those who somewhat resemble dwarves of the Seven Houses; however, these tend to be thinner and more wiry. It is said that in total darkness one can see a reddish glow emanating from the eyes of gnomes. They are usually far less hairy than normal dwarves. Many are born completely bald and hairless, or become so in the later years of their life. Conversely, some can have a full head of hair, although they can often lack facial hair. A few gnomes can be very hairy on both head and face. Hair colour can be anything, from black, various shades of brown, red and blonde, to grey and white. Lower caste gnomes will often have dirty, greasy, matted hair; this can also be true of high caste gnomes, but often theirs will be cleaner and decorated. Colouring: They are significantly paler than the average dwarf, in many cases appearing almost albino, or actually being so. Variation is possible, however, with tan, ruddy and grey skin tones all occasionally appearing. Endurance: This can range from poor, for those born weak and sickly, to exceptional, for those in good health. If healthy, they can carry large burdens over long distances with little rest. However, if not in the presence of celebur radiation, their endurance will weaken, even if otherwise healthy. Height: Can be anywhere from 3 to 5½ feet tall. Lifespan: '''Their lifespan varies, as gnomes are often born sick and weak; usually, though, it is somewhere between 300 – 400 years. '''Resistance: If healthy, exceptional. They are as resistant to fire and cold as a dwarf of the Seven Houses, and have the same strong will and resistance to magic. If not in the presence of celebur, however, they will be weaker. Special Abilities: '''Their vision in the dark is great. They are extremely hardy when in the presence of celebur deposits, and can withstand great extremes of heat and cold. '''Clothing and Decoration: The clothing of gnomes is frequently old and ragged. Cloth is a luxury in the Under-Deeps, and cloth, yarn, and clothes are often stolen from the surface races and the Seven Houses. Due to the haphazard nature of its obtaining, it can be of any colour and make, although the brighter and finer will go to the leaders. Thus those of higher status will have bright-coloured, finer, and better quality clothes, although it will frequently be a weird mix of ill-matched garments. Lower-caste gnomes will get the duller coloured and poor-quality clothes; like their high-status fellows, it is a jumble of wildly differing and often badly-fitting stuff. It will be worn until it is rags. Their clothing will also often be made of skins, furs, and leather from the creatures that haunt the Under-Deeps. Because of their ability to withstand extreme cold, both upper and lower-class gnomes often go semi-naked, wearing only cloaks and loincloths; full clothing is still common, however. Jewellery of metal and gems is worn by the higher castes; this is often made by the gnomes themselves, although some can be stolen or scavenged from other races. That made by the gnomes will usually be some sort of celebur alloy, or at least have beads or wires of celebur included in its construction. Any other race who comes into contact with this jewellery will sicken and die, which is intentional; if the gnomes cannot possess it, then no-one else will. Lower castes might have jewellery of carved bone and stone, or of metals like copper and brass; this is often pilfered from other races. Fears & Inabilities: They loathe and fear dwarves. They are terrified of Aule. They need the radiation given off by celebur – plutonium ore – and must make their cities on top of celebur deposits. Like most dwarves, they are not very fertile. Lifestyle: Their own name for themselves is the Khuz-Nom, 'Deep Dwarves'; in their mind they the true Dwarves, and all other dwarven-kind are usurpers. There are four castes: the royal/noble caste, the artisan/administration caste, the worker caste, and the slave caste. The first caste is led by the king, and he or she rules the city they live in. Their position is not inherited, but gained by murder or revolution; in fact, most positions in all the castes are frequently gained this way. Any gnome from any caste who can overthrow a king or queen is recognized as the new monarch, for as long as they can gain power. The second caste focuses on administration and the creation of food, goods and buildings for the city. The worker and slave castes do the heavy physical work of the city, with the slaves doing the most unpleasant tasks. All castes can be drafted in times of war, although there is a small standing army made of members of the noble caste. This army frequently raids orc settlements in the Under-Deeps for food and goods. Sometimes the surface is raided too, although this is infrequent, and pains are taken to make raids look like orc attacks. Members of other races are often abducted, to be killed as food. This is more an act of spite than of necessary – workers often hunt the beasts of the Under-Deeps for their meat and leather. MWorkers and slaves tend to live in much poorer conditions than other classes. Uprisings among these classes are common, and sometimes successful. If so, members of the upper castes can be demoted to slaves, when not killed. This is often temporary, however, as the new rulers try and fail to manage the city. Marriage Pattern: Like normal dwarves, few females are born; those that exist are married off to high-status males and hidden away. '''Religion: '''None. Although they recognise Morgoth as their saviour, they give him no honour otherwise, nor do they honour Sauron, whom they hate. They loathe Aule, who they believe desires their destruction. They hate Eru and the Valar in general, believing that they also seek the Gnomes’ downfall. ' Demeanor: Paranoid, treacherous, hostile towards all others, vicious, fiercely competitive. True friendships between Gnomes are unheard of, although temporary alliances are common. While there are families, there is no love lost between their members, and an endless scrabble for power within them. Many are flung out of their families for various reasons; the weak and horribly deformed often end up in the slave caste. Unlike other dwarves, they will betray their word and each other at the drop of a hat. They are ferocious fighters, preferring to get up close and personal to kill their victims, although they will used ranged weapons if necessary. Language: They have their own language, a mixture of Khudzul, orc languages and the old dark tongue created by Morgoth. They rarely need or bother to learn other tongues. Prejudices: '''They loathe and fear dwarves; this includes the Mornaugrim, who serve Sauron. They hate all beings who dwell on the surface, and all other races and beings except themselves. '''Weapons: Worker Gnomes will usually have scavenged metal weapons, or crudely fashioned non-metal weapons. Higher castes will have weapons that are forged of a celebur alloy. Long contact with these objects by non-gnomes will kill them. Plus, being injured with a weapon made of a celebur alloy will at least leave a wound that refuses to heal, and at worst kills the victim, both due to the radiation it gives off and the sorceries placed on it. They prefer daggers, short swords, hand axes, crowbows, slings, spears, and javelins. 'Armour: '''Workers will have scavenged armour, or armour crudely fashioned of non-metallic materials. Otherwise, armour will be of a celebur alloy. Gnomes favour finely crafted mail armour. They prefer large shields. ''The above is based on the non-canonical source Gnomes In Middle-Earth: https://www.scribd.com/document/302585523/Gnomes-in-Middle-Earth http://bgconv.com/docs/index-46263.html Behind the scenes In Tolkien's own writings Gnome was another name for the Noldorin Elves of Valinor. The name Gnome comes from Greek "Gnosis", meaning "Knowledge". Tolkien avoided using Gnome in the published works so as not to lead to confusion between them and other Gnomes of fantasy (such as 'garden gnomes'). Category:Wicked Dwarves Category:Dwarves Category:Articles by Linfaren